CarterHud

             The San Diego Padres have acquired RHP Zach Davies and OF Trent Grisham from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for LHP Eric Lauer and INF Luis Urias.

             At first sight this trade could come as a surprise for many different reasons, and it is surprising that all four players included were dealt. The one veteran in this trade is Davies. Davies is only 26, and 2019 was just his 4th full season in the big leagues, so it is hard to call him a veteran. But, everyone else in the trade debuted in 2018 or 2019, and he is definitely the senior of the group. Davies had his best season in 2019. His 3.55 ERA was a career high, and while he made 31 starts, he did not qualify for the ERA title, with 159.2 innings pitched (you need 162 IP to qualify). That is averaging just over 5 innings an outing. Going through the batting order three times has been an issue for many pitchers. But for Davies, that was a strength. Opponents had just a .578 OPS against Davies their third time up. They had a much better .778 OPS on their first attempt. In high leverage situations, batters had a .619 OPS against him. But Davies\’ main issue was always strikeouts. He struck out just 102 batters in 2019, for a measly 5.7 K/9. His career K/9 isn\’t much better, at 6.4. This hurt his FIP, which was lowered down to 4.56. So, his fWAR was 1.6, worse than a pitcher like Dylan Bundy, who gave up 22 more runs in two more innings. Davies is due for a raise in arbitration and will be a free agent after 2021. If the Padres don\’t add any more to their starting rotation, slot in Davies as starter number two behind Chris Paddack, and potentially behind Joey Lucchesi as well.

              Unfortunately, Trent Grisham has played just 51 regular season MLB games, and he is already known for the wrong reason, his terrible error in his one postseason game, the NL Wild Card game. Filling in at the end of the season for injured MVP runner up Christian Yelich, Grisham hit six home runs with a .231 average and a .410 slugging, which is not good. But his defense is good. In those 51 games, he had a 2.1 UZR and five defensive runs saved. With Ryan Braun\’s defense hurting and him just turning 36, Grisham seemed to have a future in the Brewers\’ outfield. He could see some time platooning with Manuel Margot in San Diego\’s center field.

               Going to the flip side of the deal, Luis Urias was MLB Pipeline\’s 16th best prospect in the league entering 2019. However, he really struggled at the plate. In 71 MLB games, Urias hit four home runs with a .223 batting average and a .655 OPS. He also made nine errors at shortstop alone (41 games). However, he still had a 1.0 bWAR. But, he is still just 22 and had a .998 OPS at AAA El Paso (73 games) in 2019. That included 19 home runs. He seems to be blocked with Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. at the left side of the infield for years to come. Urias can play second, and that was where he was expected to start 2019 at, following Ian Kinsler\’s awful 2019. The Brewers could experiment with Urias as their shortstop. Orlando Arcia hit 15 home runs in 2019, but he had a weak .633 OPS, slightly below his career mark of .652. Arcia also had a -0.1 WAR. Third baseman Mike Moustakas is a free agent, so Urias could be used there. The team will still trust Travis Shaw, who hit more than 30 home runs in his first two years with the team, even though his .157 average, .551 OPS 2019 season was about as bad as it gets.

                  2019 was a weird year for the final member of the trade, Eric Lauer. Lauer had a 4.34 ERA in 23 starts in 2018, his rookie season, but started Opening Day 2019 for the Padres as a 23 year old. In 30 games (29 starts), Lauer had a 4.45 ERA, and struck out 138 batters in 149.2 innings, for an 8.3 K/9, much better than Davies. Lauer, a 1st round pick back in 2016, is not well regarded and is seen as the 4th most important player of the trade. He will likely take Davies\’ rotation spot for the Brewers. The Brewers\’ 2020 rotation is all over the place, and could see multiple additions. Downgrading Davies to Lauer could mean that the Brewers have another move up their sleeve.

         The Toronto Blue Jays have acquired RHP Chase Anderson from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for 1B Chad Spanberger.

         The Blue Jays\’ 2020 rotation is by no means set. After trading Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez at the trade deadline, Anderson could be the main veteran in the rotation. Matt Shoemaker will return after allowing five runs in 28.2 innings in his first five starts in April, then tearing his ACL. Trent Thornton seems like a lock, and Anthony Kay, acquired for Stroman, has a good chance. Thomas Pannone and Jacob Waguespack are also battling for a spot, and another player will likely be acquired. With Kay, Thornton and Waguespack debuting in 2019, you could see why the Jays needed a veteran presence in their rotation. Anderson has been an up-and-down pitcher in his career. He had a strong 2017 and a decent 2019, but lead the league in homers allowed in 2018, despite a 3.93 ERA. A great comparable for Jays fans is Marco Estrada. The Blue Jays acquired Estrada, a homer prone pitcher, from the Brewers, in 2014. He was great in 2015 and 2016, before falling off the next two years.

          Anderson, soon to be 32, had a 4.21 ERA with a 4.83 FIP and 124 strikeouts in 139 innings for the Brewers in 2019. In his MLB career for the Brewers and Arizona Diamondbacks, Anderson has a 3.94 ERA with a 4.54 FIP and 721 strikeouts in 857 innings.

         Anderson was becoming an odd man out in the Brewers\’ rotation. The team likely would have declined Anderson\’s $8.5 million option that was due yesterday (this post is a day late). Instead, they are able to get some value in Spanberger, and not eat up any money. A 24 year old, Spanberger made it to AA for the first time in 2019. He was acquired midway through 2018 as part of a package for Seunghwan Oh.

        Spanberger, 24, had a .237 average with 13 home runs, 59 RBIs and four stolen bases in 480 Plate Appearances for AA New Hampshire. In his minor league career, Spanberger has a .274 average with 59 home runs, 200 RBIs and 23 stolen bases in 1259 Plate Appearances.

          The Detroit Red Wings have acquired forward Brendan Perlini from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for defenseman Alec Regula.

          The Blackhawks have not been using Perlini. He had been healthy scratched in all but one of the Blackhawks\’ first 10 games this season, leading to him asking for a trade. A former 12th overall pick, the United Kingdom native has potential. The Red Wings could use Perlini for their bottom six. He is still 23, and is making under $900k. He will be an RFA after the season. Perlini was acquired with Dylan Strome from the Coyotes last season, and had 15 points in 46 games post trade.

          Perlini, 23, has no points in one game this year. He scored 14 goals with seven assists for 21 points in 68 games last season. In his NHL career for the Blackhawks and Arizona Coyotes, Perlini has scored 45 goals with 27 assists for 72 points in 200 games.

           In return for their extra forward, the Blackhawks received Regula. He was drafted by Detroit in the third round in 2018. The defenseman is currently off to a very hot start for the OHL\’s London Knights. Up until their five goal effort yesterday, the Blackhawks had scored just 20 goals in nine games this season, but that is now up to a not terrible 25 in 10 games. Giving a forward like Perlini a chance could have helped. However, Regula is a good prospect, and this could be a big win for them.

            Regula, 19, has scored four goal with seven assists for 11 points in 10 games for the Knights this year. In three seasons for London, Regula has scored 22 goals with 53 assists for 75 points in 143 games.

         The Anaheim Ducks have acquired defenseman Erik Gudbranson from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for forward Andreas Martinsen and a 2021 7th round pick.

         The Ducks could use a defenseman. Besides Josh Manson, they didn\’t have any right handed shot defenseman with 100 games played since the start of the 2016-17 season. However, Gudbranson isn\’t much of an impact player. Including 2019-20, he has two years left on his contract with a $4 million cap hit. Gudbranson is a physical defenseman, but he doesn\’t have much appeal besides that. He is still an upgrade for the Ducks, who are seeking defensive help. They recently signed Luca Sbisa, but he was claimed off waivers immediately.

          Gudbranson, 27, has no points in seven games this season. In his NHL career for the Penguins, Vancouver Canucks and Florida Panthers, the former 3rd overall pick has 16 goals with 48 assists for 64 points in 474 games.

           The Penguins need cap room. They were shopping bottom pairing defensemen Gudbranson and Jack Johnson, who are both overpaid. They had come close to some trades including Johnson, but they haven\’t completed any yet. Martinsen is a depth forward with some NHL experience. The Penguins badly need forwards with Alex Galchenyuk, Nick Bjugstad, Bryan Rust and Evgeni Malkin on IR, the latter two being on LTIR.

           Martinsen, 29, scored one goal with three assists for four points in 24 games for the Blackhawks in 2018-19. In his NHL career for the Blackhawks, Montreal Canadiens and Colorado Avalanche, Martinsen has scored nine goals with 14 assists for 23 points in 152 games.

From Newsday

        The Ottawa Senators have acquired forward Vladislav Namestnikov from the New York Rangers in exchange for defenseman Nick Ebert and a 2021 4th round draft pick.

        The Senators likely will be at the bottom of the league this season. But in Namestnikov, they see a player that can be traded later. A pending UFA, Namestnikov has a lot to play for this season. If he has a good stint with the Senators, he can be flipped for picks at the trade deadline. He didn\’t have a good two games for the Rangers this year, with no points and a -2 rating. He has struggled since joining the Rangers at the 2018 trade deadline. The Rangers retained 18.8% of Namestnikov\’s contract ($750k).

        Namestnikov, 26, has no points in two games this year. He scored 11 goals with 31 points in 78 games for the Rangers last season. In his NHL career for the Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning, Namestnikov has scored 66 goals with 92 assists for 158 points in 362 games.

        Namestnikov had fallen out of favor in New York, and with valuable youngsters Filip Chytil and Vitali Kravtsov in the AHL, the eyes were on Namestnikov to play well. He didn\’t, and now he is gone. Trade talks surrounding him took place throughout the offseason, with his contract soon expiring. They get a defenseman in Ebert that came back to North America after a stint in the Swedish League.

         Ebert, 25, has no points in 1 AHL game this season. He scored 11 goals with 22 assists for 33 points in 49 Swedish League games this past season.